Last time on Sailor Moon Another Story, we cleared up Switzerland and now we're in Nepal with Mars. I like the globe-hopping aspect of this game, really - at least we're not just stuck in Japan the whole game.

Nepal's theme song is arguably the best area theme in the game that isn't Crystal Tokyo, and that's saying a lot.

"What was that? I felt a surge of evil energy. I wonder where it came from..."

[Mars looks around]

[Mars walks up to a local and looks him over]

Local: "Wh... who are you?!"

: "Not from this person either..."

He just stares at her all confused like, "what in the world?" I love the little touches of humor the game drops here and there.

"For now, I'll go and investigate it."

We're about to trespass into the local temple. This is sure to end well.

Especially since the Luna-P is already here. I never knew a cute little ball like this could be such an ominous messenger of doom.

... Okay, what the hell. They have nothing for stats. I guess the point is that you wipe them out in one attack, but this is ridiculous!

Still, I really like how they made some brand new enemies just for this area. It's a nice change of pace to see monsters that actually match the surroundings instead of being a random Youma/Droid/Daimon from the show.

(Plus, it helps that the one in the cloak is legitimately cool-looking.)

This is Mars's Fire Soul Bird attack - it's an anime and video-game exclusive move and a variation of her famous Fire Soul that she turns into a friggin phoenix bomb.

This is what it looks like in the anime. I can even give you context for the prayer she says before she attacks - it's a mantra for the Buddhist god Fudomyoo. In English it reads like this: "Homage to the all-pervading Vajras! O Violent One of great wrath! Destroy!"

Real talk though, I'm glad this isn't one of those "The Many Deaths of You" games where choosing the wrong thing to do at any given moment will just murder you. It'd be interesting to see that format done right in an RPG, though.

???: "That does it!! Stop!"

[A man jumps down from above]

"Monks": "Who's that?"

A savior? He has a unique sprite, so he must be.

[The man charges through the evil monks and knocks them all out at once]

Damn son, he sure made quick work of them. I mean sure, they all have 1 HP, but at this point I'm not questioning it.

[The man runs over to Mars]

???: "Are you okay?"

: "Uh... Jadeite...? But I didn't get it yet... Wait, you're not... Who are you?"

Interesting. Either she got a concussion from that team attack or this guy somehow manages to resemble one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

???: "My name's Faregg. What's your name?"

: "... Mars. My name is Sailor Mars."

I like how they use their Senshi titles as codenames. Even if their costumes don't function as "disguises", we're never going to visit Nepal after this game so it doesn't really matter if they know who she is or not.

[Mars collapses and the screen pixellates out]

Both chapters so far have started with Mercury and Mars winding up in someone's bed after they get rescued. Make of that as you will. Why yes, I am Mr. Horrible, nice to meet you.

[Faregg walks in]

Faregg: "Are you conscious? I was worried, you suddenly collapsed. This is my house."

[Mars walks out of bed]

: "Is that so... Thank you very much."

He's a good boy.

Faregg: "Well, I have to go to the elder's house. Please rest some more."

[He walks out of the room]

[Mars shakes it off]

"It was just my imagination!"

You sure? It doesn't help that there's no official art of Faregg to compare it to Jadeite, so I don't know how correct the comparison is.

I find it odd because Hans wasn't really a Zoisite parallel back when we were in Switzerland, he was just A Guy.

Whatever, let's walk around town.

Fascinating. That's sort of what happened because he's... kind of a ghost right now. I'm not sure what quite turned him back to the good guys, but I'm not complaining.

Neat stuff, but keep the word "spirit" in mind for later because it's actually super-relevant. The lady next to her states that the atmosphere is thin here and that we need to steady our breathing, so that's a little bit concerning.

The local shop has some nice stuff, such as the incredibly powerful Yaga Soup that restores all of our health for only 500 Yen. Good god.

I'd recommend buying some defense accessories and at least two bracelets for Mars just so she can survive (you know, due to her subpar speed growth).

Also, I can't be the only person that finds it hilarious that you regenerate energy points by putting on lipstick. Who knew girly products had this kind of magical power?

"Please go back now."

Fancy house you have here. You can tell it's the elder's house by the fact it's bigger than one screen.

That's a cute sprite and all, but I'm more distracted by the treasure chest over the fireplace. My "kleptomaniac hero" senses compel me to take it, but it's too high up. Why can't these arms reach?

[Faregg walks in]

Faregg: "Indeed... why were you, a girl, all alone in that place?"

: "I can't tell you my reasons. But, I thank you for your help."

Elder: "Excuse me for interrupting, but I need to know something."

: "Y... yes... Of course, I understand."

Elder: "Why did you come to this place?"

Mars does look a little out of place. Just a smidge.

"For him to recover, a special stone called 'Jadeite' is needed."

... Hmm. Practically every Sailor Moon villain barring Nehellenia is named after a gemstone or a mineral of some kind, so it just begs the question - are the stones named after them or did they really name themselves after stones?

Elder: "Faregg, have you ever heard of such a stone?"

Faregg: "No, but maybe we could ask the High Priest at the Takra Kuhp Temple."

: "Where is this Temple of Takra... Koop?"

(You can't dangle that in front of me and not get a joke about it.)

Faregg: "That was the temple you were at before."

: "Gege... the temple from before...? I really don't want to go back there..."

[Sailor Mars sighs]

: "But I guess it can't be helped, can it..."

After what just happened, I'm surprised she's brave enough to want to go back.

[Mars tries to walk out the door but Faregg blocks her]

Faregg: "Women can't go there alone."

This is like the second time in a row the Sailor Senshi have been treated weird based on gender, but I can actually give Faregg the benefit of the doubt for not letting Mars go back.

His first impression was her getting reamed by a bunch of evil monks and collapsing almost immediately afterwards. Of course he wouldn't want a repeat of that.

Faregg: "Hmm... you're a stubborn one. It'd be much easier if you just listened. Do you even know what the Daisoujou looks like?"

Daisoujou just means "high priest", so we'll say that from now on. (Also, while I was looking for the definition, I came across the one from Shin Megami Tensei and he looks rad as muk.)

"I don't know. It'll be dangerous, but could you come with me?"

Faregg: "Oh jeez... you never listen, do you?"

And just like that, we absorb him into our body as an invisible party member. Anyway, let's get moving.

I'm actually going to show off a different formation than Cluster just so Mars can survive a bit. We may not have gotten a warning about monsters outside of the village, but trust me when I say that you still have to prepare.

Cluster may be the best for killing things, but you also take the most amount of damage... so I had to tone it back a bit.

Gesen is an... interesting monster to throw in for Mars's chapter. They are one of the Seven Great Youma, Queen Beryl's seven champions whose power was so great that they had to be sealed away by the White Moon Kingdom in rainbow-colored crystals.

Gesen was later reborn in someone called Crane Game Joe because you know, Gesen literally means "game center." Pun aside, he's honestly one of my favorite Youma designs aside from Murido and some others down the line due to the fact he's a robot demon guy.

He was originally defeated/cured by Moon Healing Escalation, so that just leaves the question of where all of these different Gesens are coming from.

Youma tended to blend in with society due to possessing/masquerading themselves as people, but some of them were just monsters summoned to fight up the Sailor Senshi. Droids took it a step further and made that their modus operandi, as Avogadora here took human form just to run an evil fruit shop.

Yes, really. It works because her human form is legitimately attractive. Heck, even her battle form is kinda cute in a weird amazon fruit warrior way.

That said, damn. Both of these two hit super hard for the first two random enemies you meet. At this point Mars only has about 18 Defense, so...

Yeah, this muk happens.

111 HP is currently our max right now, so my god that's disgusting.

Even in Victory formation they still manage to take a massive chunk out of my health.

Anyway, this attack is called Burning Mandala, one of Mars's signature moves from R (Season 2) onward until she upgrades it to Mars Flame Sniper in Season 4.

You see, the outer part of the mandala is commonly represented by a ring of fire. If you manage to pass through it, you gain enlightenment because it's supposed to be a metaphor for the universe/the physical world. Burning ignorance or human error or something like that.

In the center of the mandala is supposed to be a symbol of the Buddha surrounded by eight spheres that represent the eight corners of the world, and what does Mars's attack have?

I find it extra interesting because not only is Rei a shrine priestess, but due all of these connections, no wonder she was the one to go to Nepal. The mandala has been shown to originate from Nepal, Tibet, etc... so I'm just amazed at how much thought they put into this.

This whopper of an attack is Mars Fire Snake, a powerful move that only hits one enemy. It's a manga-exclusive attack (until Crystal came around) used to combat the Death Busters, but didn't really get much use otherwise.

Personally, Mars throwing out flaming animals to blow up her enemies sounds metal as psyduck regardless.

I just had to check on the puzzle and you can see we're a fair amount of the way there. I can't wait to see it finished because not only will it be a good picture, but we actually get a reward for finishing it up!

... It'll just take a looong time to do so.

Also, I can't be the only person that thinks it's odd that our enemies have the pieces to a Sailor Senshi puzzle. It's like having a canvas of your mortal enemy in your house, it's just strange.

You sure? I didn't see much out of the ordinary aside from the evil gem and the horde of murderous gray-skinned monks.

"Have you seen that person around anywhere?"

You can answer yes or no to this.

If you answer yes, the monk will chase after them without knowing Mars was the intruder all along. If you answer "no", he tells you to kill the intruder for them.

Yeah, about that...

I decided to switch back to Cluster now that I've started to outspeed the enemies. Trust me, we're going to need it.

"Wh... what the heck? He's been turned to stone!"

: "Who could've done something like this?"

You could say he had an accident.

(I still can't get over petrification being called that in this game, help me.)

Faregg: "Surely if you found Jadeite's stone, there'd be people that'd be annoyed?"

: "Yeah, there is... But, they don't know I'm here..."

Faregg: "If they notice you here, they'll know."

: "But who would do something to someone who's not involved in this at all?"

This conversation is not clear in the slightest, christ. So from what I think they're saying, Faregg is worried that the monks from before will throw a fit over Mars getting Jadeite's Hi stone even though the gem up there is clearly not the one.

Then Mars ponders why they'd turn the high priest into stone even though he's not involved.

You got me.

Mars blushes at Faregg here and that's all you need to know.

Faregg comes up with the brilliant idea to read the High Priest's mind (somehow??) so we can tell what's bothering him even in statue form.

Faregg: "Hmm... I understand. The Gemetus Ruby is freeing him!!"

... Excuse me? Don't you mean it's "freezing" him? In fact, it'd make more sense to say it's sealing him. It's definitely not letting him go, so that's just confusing.

: "Of course!!! The surge of evil energy was from that ruby! That Gemetus Ruby must have turned him into stone."

Even a quick glance and the events that happened before can tell you all of this information without words. Use your brain, Rei.

[The gem flies off of the pedestal and floats over the High Priest's head]

["Make-Up!!" SFX]

I didn't expect it to actually make the High Priest into a monster, but at least we get to beat the gem up.

Now this is interesting. Given all the connections I made with Buddhism earlier with Burning Mandala, I find it incredibly clever that they threw in the monster that was almost explicitly designed after an asura.

Asuras are a race of warlike beings in Buddhism that, while they love combat and material goods over spiritual wealth, can be good, evil or anything in between. Multiple arms usually meant more power and multiple faces meant more wisdom due to being able to see more perspectives.

"Daisoujou" here hits super hard, so them using Toxic Mist is far more preferable than a physical attack.

This monster in particular is not a Youma, Droid or Daimon but instead a Cardian. See, before the Black Moon Clan stuff happened in the anime, there was a whole filler arc involving an entity called the Makaiju, or the Hell Tree. It was a Tree of Life that gave birth to a species of plant-like humanoids, with the only survivors being Ail and An. (Oh and someone else too but we don't get to see him until later in the game oops)

The plant siblings used the Cardians as their own personal Monsters of the Day so they can drain energy and give it to the Makaiju. If the tree dies, they go with it, so there's that.

I went Cluster on this to pile on the damage because no matter how many defensive items you put on, the boss here will hit you hard no matter what.

... That, and destroying enemies in one hit is how I do things.

"We beat the Youma from the Gemetus Ruby, and the people who were being controlled by it have returned to normal!"

Oh. If that's the case, then we did good.

But wait, what about the evil monks we fought when we first got here? Were they turned into monsters or were they never real people to begin with? Well, whatever, it doesn't matter.

"You may think you've done it, but..."

: "Who's there?"

[The screen scrolls up, with Not-Mars teleporting in]

[Current OST: Apsu]

"I'm Anshar-sama's faithful servant, and... you are the Senshi I must kill!"

But no, seriously, Nergal is the Mesopotamian god of the underworld and the sun... hence why the Another Story version is the evil counterpart to Mars. It's also interesting to note that Nergal is the only Opposito that doesn't have the same haircut as their Senshi counterpart.

: "We were testing ourselves, myself and my assassin. Ma... and now the test is over. Now it's time for the real performance!"

So she put the monster inside of the Gemetus Ruby? That makes sense, I guess.

She sucker punches Faregg in the gut, the absolute scumbag.

: "Faregg!"

Faregg: "Don't worry about me! Take care of that girl!!"

: "But!"

Faregg: "Do it quickly, I'll be alright! Kill that guy!!"

Nergal kicks him to the ground this time, so yeesh.

[Two ravens show up out of nowhere and surround Nergal]

: "What annoying ravens... Disappear!!"

[She roundhouse kicks the ravens away]

I don't know what Mars was trying to accomplish there. But yes, this introduces yet another interesting thing: Rei has two pet ravens called Phobos and Deimos, named after the planet Mars's two moons. (Who are, by extension, named after the Greek deities who represented fear and dread respectively)

I didn't know she brought them to Nepal, though.

: "I'm taking this guy. If you want him back, come to Kritayuga!"

[Nergal teleports away]

I don't know who Sonna is, but Rei just lost three friends in one shot. No wonder she's disoriented.

[Mars gets up and looks to the right]

: "Ah... the Gemetus Ruby..."

[The Ruby shoots out a tiny red Luminaire, with a pillar of light surrounding the High Priest]

High Priest: "You were the one who released me, weren't you? You freed me from all those evil thoughts. Thank you very much!"

Oh hey, we saved him from being stoned!

... Wait, was he still conscious even in statue form? Holy muk that's terrifying.

High Priest: "If you ever need something from me, just ask."

: "Kritayuga... where's Kritayuga?"

High Priest: "Kritayuga is the name of the ruins north of the village called Yaga. Although, Yaga itself has also become ruins. The village of Kritayuga was in ancient times a place of worship for the god called Jadeite. Only, that exact place is..."

"Did you just say Yaga village has become ruins!? That's not possible! I was just there! I have to get back to Yaga Village right away!"

For those of you that are confused/lost track, Lasa Village is where we are right now. Yaga is where Faregg nursed us back to health.

That said, what the hell? High Priest, what are you selling me here?

High Priest: "Actually, Yaga Village has been in ruins for well over 50 years."

You what.

: "But..."

It suddenly got really spooky in here.

High Priest: "Do you plan to go to Kritayuga?"

: "Yes, I must."

High Priest: "If that's the case, then please take this."

Excellent.

But just... It's been in ruins for 50 years? Something tells me we need to investigate this.

The monks now have a healthy skin color and aren't evil anymore! Hooray.

Lasa Village also sells the amazing Toilettes, so I urge you to buy some while you're still here.

Did some extra grinding before going to the village itself. I find it kind of refreshing to fight random monsters after all this drama, really.

[The screen scrolls around the desolate village]

Oh wow, he wasn't kidding. But this place was bursting with life before... what the hell happened?

"What the high Priest said has become true..."

Mercury's chapter kept it simple, but Mars went as far as to throw in a plot twist.

Oh hey, there's the actual Kyurene. It makes sense for them to be here because bats hide in caves, right? Still, I find it strange that the stronger palette swap version is encountered before the real thing.

In the show she attacks with sonic waves, which in Another Story translates to that useless attack that's supposed to put you to sleep. Oh well, can't win them all.

Octave is a violin turned into a Daimon, and there's not much to say about them aside from them having a horrible screechy voice in the anime.

They sure give good rewards though, including a random puzzle piece!

There are doors out of the upper rooms, but they just lead to these windows with not much else going for them aside from a nice view.

Oooh boy. Octave's rainbow attack there is Illusion, an attack that inflicts Selfishness. In this game, that's pretty much just the confusion stat where you hit enemies and allies alike, so at least its name is appropriate.

Also, for all that attack these guys have, they can't even do more than three damage to Mars anymore. Time to wreck.

[Current OST: Apsu]

"Ma... But you will not be any challenge. Nothing can stop us now. Let's fight."

: "Wa... wait a second, why do I have to fight you? I just want Faregg, so back off!"

She wants him, alright.

: "So, you want to know my motives? Well..."

[Nergal walks forward and pulls out a green stone]

: "That's Jadeite's stone! ... I see. This is why I came to Nepal too."

I like how she has to re-affirm that just in case anybody thought it was because we wanted to go on a world tour.

I don't know how or why, but Nergal, despite being the Sailor Mars of the Opposito, is even weaker than the first one we fight. Yeah, this is pretty much all you're getting - no sudden comeback after you beat the first battle, nothing.

It's fast paced and fair, unlike Nabu's fight... but it just raises the question of why wasn't Nabu like this to begin with?

Anyway... Nergal may hit like a linebacker, but she sure can't take a punch. This is with Fire Soul of all abilities.

To contrast, this is how much Mars Fire Snake did.

Nergal has a move called Whirlwind Cut that hits everybody in the team, so she might be able to threaten a whole team... emphasis on "might". She also has Illusion for some reason, but that's one of her less useful attacks anyway. Might as well be giving us a free turn.

That was easy. What happened?!

I feel Mercury and Mars's chapters should be swapped around because not only is this far easier to navigate, it's less grindy and infuriating than Mercury's.

Heck, Nergal is even less of a pain than Nabu and doesn't come with a bullmuk second battle out of nowhere. Yes, really. I get that they're doing the Inner Senshi chapters based on who joined the team first, but come on.

"Well, next time we meet, don't count on winning. Next time for sure, we will completely destroy the strength of the Sailor Senshi. Next time..."

Yeah, keep telling yourself that, buddy.

[Current OST: Crystal Tokyo]

"Who called out my name?"

: "... Nergal. I am the Shaman Apsu."

: "What do you want with me!?"

: "I heard your voice. I heard the voice in your heart."

You know, when I said this game made Kingdom Hearts parallels, I didn't expect for it to actually go with something like this.

I can't get over this - Nabu did almost everything wrong. You had the long exposition cutscene before the impossible battle, but here you get the cutscene after you beat Nergal and she's not even that bad.

It's just mind-boggling to me.

: "You've always wanted to be strong, haven't you?"

: "A... ah..."

: "So, you've also dreamed of being stronger than the Sailor Senshi?"

: "What are you saying...!?"

: "I understand what you're feeling. And I too have a power as strong as theirs."

[Nergal floats into the air and turns pitch black for a couple of frames]

"Wh... what are you saying? It... it's possible to have power like that!? Don't say such things..."

I like how she says this as she's already being cast into the air via magic.

Long story short, Nergal joined because she was tricked(?) into becoming power-hungry. This is a bit of a step back from Nabu who had an actual philosophy regarding the dubious nature of the Silver Crystal.

"It's the Jadeite stone that I promised to give to the winner."

[She throws it at Rei, who catches it in her hands]

: "... Again. When we meet again, we'll see who wins then. Sailor Mars, you are my trophy, and don't ever forget it!"

Trophy?? This got more personal than I was expecting.

: "Wait! Where's Faregg?"

: "That man is sleeping in the interior room. Later!!"

[Nergal teleports away]

She was surprisingly a good sport about this whole thing. We'd be screwed if she decided to keep the gem even after we won, so that was a thing.

: "Deimos!! You're all right, that's good."

So... the other raven was just in here for some reason? Did Nergal take not only Faregg but the birds too? That's weird.

"Please, wake up! If you're still alive, answer me! Answer me!!"

[Faregg opens his eyes and walks off the pedestal]

Faregg: "... What is this place?"

[Mars walks forward]

Faregg: "Hey, what's wrong? Your eyes are red."

She got really attached to him in such a short span of time, wow.

[Mars turns away from him with an "angry vein" balloon popping over her head]

: "I mean, I didn't know where you were! But... You're still alive!"

At least she cares about him at least.

[Mars runs towards Faregg to give him a hug, but she just phases through his body]

Faregg: "Forgive me, Mars... As a matter of fact, my body isn't real. My soul is the only thing left."

: "That's a lie! If it were true, I'd have to be a ghost too just to understand you. So I don't believe any of it. You're not a ghost!"

And makes no sense either if you were paying attention to what he was doing earlier. Let me list the ways:

#1: If his body wasn't real, how was he able to fight back the Youma from before and rescue Mars?
#2: If his body wasn't real, how was Nergal able to sucker punch him?
#3: If his body wasn't real, how was Nergal able to take him here?

Illusions are a hell of a drug.

Faregg: "Really...? Only, I disagree with you."

"Over many centuries, those people came to the village to pray... That is why I came."

: "To pray?"

Faregg: "Ah, no... that was my invitation. People from Kritayuga were many among those who protected the temple. Those people worshiped Jadeite-sama at Takra Kuhp Temple. And... those prayers gave us this appearance."

That's... an interesting result for a prayer. Imagine you're praying to a deity and you suddenly start looking like them. That'd be shock to your neighbors.

Rei changed quite a bit since her beta designs. She originally had a different name: Miyabi Yoruno (夜野みやび Yoruno Miyabi) which meant "Elegance of Night." That, and she was going to have straight up armor as a reference to the actual Mars, the Roman god of war.

Some interesting things to note is that she also apparently hates television and modern society while liking small lizards and... plum juice?? She's even more of a hipster than I imagined.

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